Baseball completes second-straight sweep to begin MAC play
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Miami University came into the weekend as the Mid-American Conference's best hitting team.
Nobody told freshman left-handed pitcher Nick Deeg.
The Lake Orion-native led Central Michigan to a 2-1 victory by throwing six no-hit innings in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader against Miami (Ohio).
The Chippewas (16-10, 6-0 MAC) swept the home-opening series against the RedHawks (10-15, 2-4 MAC).
"(Deeg) was outstanding as he threw really well again today," said head coach Steve Jaksa. "His pitch count got to 102, so we had to get him out of there."
Deeg struck out eight batters and walked three on his way to his high pitch total. Despite keeping Miami off the board, CMU's coaches said they were not confident Deeg would keep the hitless streak going through the ninth inning.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Adam Aldred finished the job, pitching three innings and giving up two hits and no earned runs while striking out three.
The lone MU run crossed the plate in the seventh inning, but wasn't earned as an error on sophomore left fielder Neal Jacobs allowed the runner to advance into scoring position.
"I was expecting to go into the seventh," Deeg said. "When they told me I was done I said, 'What?' but then I saw my pitch count and I understood. (My arm) felt like when I was just starting the game, with my adrenalin running, I couldn't feel it."
Junior catcher Tyler Huntey was able to kick-start the Chippewas offense in the fourth with a leadoff single, but failed to come around to score.
After Deeg threw a strikeout to end the fifth inning, the Chippewas gathered in front of the dugout in an attempt to ignite some momentum.
It worked.
CMU scored two runs when sophomore shortstop Morgan Oliver reached first safely on a fielder's choice error, allowing designated hitter Alex Borglin and Jacobs to cross the plate.
"I thought we got into a little bit of a lull," Jaksa said. "We had a few calls not go our way and I thought we were getting negative, so we told them to change their attitude."
The Chippewas will be back in action at 3:05 p.m. Tuesday at Theunissen Stadium in a non-conference makeup game against Madonna University.
